Find us on Facebook

Top Five: Albums of 2012

It’s a shame that I don’t often find an excuse to write about music here at Mission:Geek; there is little else I love nearly as much. In all honesty, I really don’t have the knowledge of it that I do with gaming, so I wouldn’t be comfortable with claiming any expertise on the matter. That said, I DO feel like it would be a shame to not include a list of my personal favorite records that were released in 2012 – even if it was kind of a slow year for truly great music. Here we go!

5) Baroness: Yellow and Green

Best Track – Cocainium

For me, part of the excitement of Baroness’ Yellow and Green is that I purchased it completely on a whim without any real prior knowledge of their material. I saw it in a local HMV, decided it was intriguing, and purchased it as part of my ritual of obtaining new music for long drives. It can’t be said that it doesn’t have a few too many pieces of filler to pad out its double-album length, but the great tunes here hit hard and stay with you for days. I loved the eclectic, almost vintage rock feel of this record, especially on tracks like Cocainium (I loved the acid rock feel with this one) and Sea Lungs, two ear worms that had me coming back to this release for weeks. Give it a try if you’re looking for something fun and different for your collection, or just check them out on Youtube if you’re not the adventurous type.

4) Devin Townsend Project: Epicloud

Best Track – Liberation

Devin Townsend may be one of the most active men in music. His experimental efforts have been hitting on an annual basis for a long time now and, if recent information is correct, he’s not looking to let up any time soon. Now, with records like Ziltoid the Omniscient and this year’s Epicloud under his belt, he may also be one of the best. Epicloud is a soaring, musically complex effort that can come across as overly pretentious at times (especially in tracks like True North) but, experienced in the right mood, is a beautiful piece of work with a surprisingly broad appeal for a man of his tastes and tenure. Pick this one up if you’re in the mood for some complex, experimental metal and don’t mind the occasional pretentiousness in your ears.

3) Testament: Dark Roots of Earth

Best Track – Last Stand for Independence

There is no doubt in my mind that Testament is one of the most under-appreciated acts in music today. Their albums almost always top the thrash scene’s releases in any year and, at least in my experience, their live performances are show-stealing spectacles of brilliant songwriting and expert musicianship. Dark Roots of Earth may not be their best effort to date, but it features enough great songs to keep it in your speakers for weeks at a time, especially in the fantastic Last Stand for Independence, a tune I consider to be the genre-defining thrash anthem of this decade. Anybody looking for something to bang their heads to should grab this one immediately.

2) The Sword: Apocryphon

Best Track – Apocryphon

Unlike the other artists in this list, The Sword has the dubious honor of starting out as a band that I absolutely detested. My first encounter with them was in Guitar Hero 2 with their song Freya and, wow, did I ever loathe every part of that song. I wrote them off as just another hackneyed attempt at emulating simple, classic rock and promptly moved on with my life. Then, with the release of 2010′s Warp Riders (which I heard accidentally), I discovered some real talent in their songwriting and have since been a devoted fan. Now, with 2012′s Apocryphon, The Sword have released a record that is far better than it has any reason to be and, at least in my opinion, their most accomplished work to date. I found its sharp, staccato riffs to be more than a little reminiscent of the classic metal I initially wrote them off as pathetically mimicking, and – totally back pedalling here – couldn’t recommend it more on that basis alone.

1) Rush: Clockwork Angels

Best Track – Headlong Flight

That Rush, a staggering 44 years into their career, are still producing albums is one thing, but the fact that they remain at the top of the Progressive Rock heap with brilliant records like Clockwork Angels is just completely amazing to me. Part of my love of this album comes from it serving as my introduction to Rush’s heavier modern material. It’s really sparked a love affair with their three most recent efforts, inspiring a trend of listening to them almost exclusively for the entirety of the summer. Packed full of great tracks from top to bottom (and possibly the best modern rock single in decades), Clockwork Angels is the perfect good mood album and easily my most visited record of any genre this year.

About Nick DeLong -
A gamer and proud nerd for over 20 years, I lead the charge here at Mission:Geek as our Final Boss. I love heavy music, playing the drums, hanging out with my friends and family, and, of course, I can't get enough gaming. My favorite genres are: JRPG, Action (Horror Action especially!), Adventure, and anything classic.

Faster, cheaper, and simpler than other sources of biofuel, algae has a great potential to be the foundation of some forms of renewable energy. The R.I.T. researches have been growing , a single-celled organism that can be batched, grown, and ready in only seven days. The algae is found all over North America and more?buoyant?that other types of algae, making it easier to collect sunlight for photosynthesis.
Lululemon Outlet Canada http://www.wapfcheyenne.org/Lululemon-Outlet-Canada.html

“We will continue to hold the delivery of certain large-scale military systems and cash assistance to the government pending credible progress toward an inclusive, democratically elected civilian government through free and fair elections,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.
Lululemon http://lululemon.powervox.ca/

Increased interest is especially seen for classic contemporary works from long-established collections.It’s not just the U.S. that is aggressively pursuing renewable-energy solutions to battlefield challenges: The Australian National University (ANU) the development of “wearable lightweight solar panels” for that country’s Department of Defense.
Lululemon Canada http://lululemonoutlet.sgdhs.ca/

Boko Haram also fingered the late Nigerian ambassador to São Tomé and Príncipe, Saidu Pindar, as a member of Boko Haram, who died in a car crash while delivering 5 million Nigerian naira (about $3,100) to the sect.
Lululemon Canada http://lululemon.canadacovers.ca/

Great. What? Is it about supporting British business financially? Er, no: “Propping up lame ducks…is something to which we will never return.” OK, what about tariffs? Apparently not: “Opposition to protectionism was right…protectionism is what governments reach for when they don’t believe firms can compete.” Hmmm. What about calling on us plucky consumers to do our bit? “This is not about making consumers feel bad if they don’t buy products from British business.” Oh.
Lululemon Canada http://www.watthainm.com/lululemonoutletcanada.html

Theres a whole world out there to discover and you can do just that with our cruise and stay holidays in. Still not decided where you would like to go? Well here you will find an array of packages from the bright lights of Las Vegas, to the grand palaces of Copenhagen. The choice is completely up to you. Our cruise and hotel option allows you to explore both sea and land and truly experience the ultimate holiday.
Lululemon Canada http://www.ibew348.ca/

Unlike the Leaf’s straight up rating, which is devised upon the fact the vehicle is all electric, the Volt’s case is a little different. , the Volt runs on electricity only for the first 35 miles or so but, as has been , “when the 16-kilowatt-hour lithium ion battery runs down, a 1.4-liter gasoline engine drives a generator to keep juice flowing to the wheels.” That is therein where the difficulty lies in how to compare this vehicle to others, if you must be technical about it.
Lululemon Canada http://lululemon.justsue.ca/